#BlogElul 3: Bless

My mom had bunion surgery (big toe and "pinky" toe) on her right foot today.  I was trying to think, last night and all the way down to Los Angeles today how I could write about “Bless.”  As I was waiting for Mom to come out of recovery I was thinking about how hard it was for me when I had foot surgery, and how you don’t realize how good things are till you lose them for awhile.

Now, I want to make clear that I am not talking about that, “Well at least you aren't a blind, deaf, mute, paralyzed beggar in India… who are you to complain?”  I have heard people use that as a way of saying that it could be worse, but to me if you have to reach that low to make your life not that bad, then, my friend, it is that bad. 

What I am talking about is realizing the things that you have that you are blessed with that you take for granted.  Like when you have a head cold and you all of a sudden realize how much of a blessing it is to breathe through your nose.  When you have surgery on your feet, all of a sudden every step is a blessing.   This made me think of what I heard Rabbi Sharon Brous say in an interview with Kirsta Tippet that first aired back in 2007.

And what Heschel says to us is, 'Look at the presents, like figure out what you do have. Look at the world with awe and wonder, and the amazing miracle that your skin holds the blood inside your body.' You know, that nature works the way that it works, that the world is as extraordinary as it is 

The closest actual quote from Rabbi Herchel I could find was this:

Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ....get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.” 
― Abraham Joshua Heschel

It's hard to remember sometimes, but Life is a blessing.  And we should remember to thank G*d every day for that blessing.  For the blessing of being alive, and breathing and walking.